CN116388850A - A virtual network operator management method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a virtual network operator management method. The virtual network operator management method includes: S100, creating an exclusive virtual network operator and/or a shared virtual network operator; and S200, managing the exclusive virtual network operator The network operator and/or the shared virtual network operator; wherein, the exclusive virtual network operator monopolizes one or more exclusively used satellite master station modem channels and satellite communications provided by the main network operator channel, the shared virtual network operator shares at least part of the hardware equipment and software resources under a satellite communication channel provided by the main network operator. The invention has the advantages of low cost, wide applicability, easy use and maintenance, etc., and can realize simultaneous independent operation and management of multiple operators of the high-throughput satellite network.

Description

A virtual network operator management method

technical field

The invention relates to the field of satellite communication, in particular to a virtual network operator management method.

Background technique

At present, as the data capacity of the high-throughput satellite system increases, the satellite communication services it can provide users are becoming more and more abundant. However, the initial investment in the satellite communication system is huge, and the threshold is very high. On the one hand, it is difficult for the main operators of the satellite communication system to quickly promote the business to end users through commercialization, and it is difficult to recover the cost quickly and obtain profits; on the other hand, Although many small-scale operators have a market for VSAT terminal users and a strong willingness to promote and expand the satellite communication Internet service market, they cannot enter the ranks of satellite communication operations due to the huge capital investment required.

Generally speaking, a conventional satellite network communication system service includes a satellite network provider and satellite network users applying its network communication service. Among them, the satellite network provider has all equipment including the gateway station, remote equipment and related software, charges fees to its network users, and provides communication network services.

In traditional business models, it is difficult to incrementally add and expand resource functions for new users. For example, in order to create a new independently managed private satellite network, an operator must acquire, install, configure, add and manage at least one new modem chassis and modem boards, as well as transponders and network segments.

Moreover, it is difficult for different operators to distinguish and manage their own baseband, satellite and terminal resources in the same network management system.

At the same time, customers cannot independently utilize all network functions, and need to coordinate the control of these functions with third-party network operators, thereby increasing costs and reducing customer flexibility and autonomy. In order to have flexible control over these network parameters, each user needs to spend extra money to set up an independent network, dedicated to their application, and tuned according to their needs.

In addition, the existing satellite communication system manufacturers all have mature network management systems. If a new system is to be redesigned and developed, the cost will increase significantly.

To sum up, a high-throughput satellite communication system with large bandwidth and supporting more terminals will be very inconvenient for multiple operators to jointly operate and maintain the system.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the contradiction between the main network operator and the virtual network operator in the current satellite communication business, the present invention proposes a virtual network operator management method, which has the advantages of low cost, easy maintenance and use, and can be used for the original The transformation of the network management system is conducive to the realization of the hardware and software of the system, and achieves the improvement of the efficiency and mutual benefit of the operators.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a virtual network operator management method, the virtual network operator management method includes:

S100, creating an exclusive VNO and/or a shared VNO; and

S200. Manage the exclusive VNO and/or the shared VNO;

Wherein, the exclusive virtual network operator monopolizes one or more satellite communication channels provided by the main network operator, and the shared virtual network operator shares at least part of a satellite communication channel provided by the main network operator Hardware equipment and software resources.

Further, in the S100, creating the exclusive virtual network operator includes:

S111, adding and/or modifying at least one network segment as a dedicated network segment;

S112, adding at least one exclusive satellite virtual resource network, and assigning at least one dedicated network segment to each exclusive satellite virtual resource network;

S113, adding at least one exclusive virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each exclusive virtual network operator role;

S114, adding at least one exclusive VNO user, and assigning at least one exclusive VNO role to each exclusive VNO user;

S115. Create at least one management group for the exclusive virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group.

Further, in S110, when adding and/or modifying a dedicated network segment, the configuration items for the dedicated network segment include frequency points, symbol rates, output power, superframe planning, and modulation and demodulation channels;

In said S130, the management authority assigned to the exclusive virtual network operator role includes at least one of terminal multicast upgrade authority, network segment configuration and monitoring authority, terminal addition, deletion and modification, and remote configuration authority, and an exclusive virtual network operator role Operator users can assign different permissions to their multiple exclusive virtual network operator roles;

In the step S150, management groups are created according to the attributes of the terminal users, so that all terminal users in each management group have at least one set of the same attributes.

Further, in the S200, managing the exclusive virtual network operator includes:

The exclusive virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of private network segments, satellite virtual resource networks and management groups.

Further, in the S100, creating the shared virtual network operator includes:

S121, adding a cloud resource management module;

S122. Add at least one shared satellite virtual resource network, and allocate bandwidth to each shared satellite virtual resource network;

S123, adding at least one shared virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each shared virtual network operator role;

S124, adding at least one shared virtual network operator user, and assigning at least one shared virtual network operator role to each shared virtual network operator user;

S125. Create at least one management group for the shared virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group.

Further, in the S122, the bandwidth allocated for each shared type of satellite virtual resource network includes a total MIR and a total CIR, and sub-MIRs and sub-CIRs under different beams.

Further, in the S200, managing the shared virtual network operator includes:

The shared virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of the satellite virtual resource network and management group.

The virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention, by proposing two management modes of the virtual network operator, that is, the exclusive mode and the shared mode, can provide different management modes for operator users with different operation management requirements. The improvement of the system and the design and implementation of the system can effectively reduce the input costs of other operators and improve the resource utilization rate of the system. The main network operator of the satellite also brings considerable benefits. It has low cost, wide applicability, and is easy to use and maintain. And other features, it can realize the independent operation and management of multiple operators of high-throughput satellite network at the same time.

The virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention supports operators to monopolize one or more satellite networks, and different operators share public equipment and satellite resources and dynamically allocate bandwidth among multiple independently managed networks. The equipment in the satellite network is reconfigurable and expandable, providing the ability to change communication capacity when additional elements are added or reconfigured. Configurable features include communication bandwidth, quality of service (QoS), and the number of communication satellites, beams, satellite subnets, etc. included in the communication system. Through the expansion mode of VNO (Virtual Network Operator) configured in the network management system, small operators can greatly reduce the initial investment cost, lower the threshold for entering the satellite communication service provider market, and provide end users with competitive satellite-based At the same time, through the promotion of VNO business, HNO (main network operator) can share the input cost of the system, improve the resource utilization rate of the system, and reduce the difficulty of developing the terminal user market, so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings required in the embodiments. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some of the present invention. Embodiments, for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a general flow of a virtual network operator management method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic subflow diagram of a virtual network operator management method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic subflow diagram of a virtual network operator management method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a satellite communication network system applying an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of configuration of modulation and demodulation channels when the system of FIG. 4 is applied to an exclusive VNO;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a satellite virtual resource network when the system of FIG. 4 is applied to an exclusive VNO;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of configuration of modulation and demodulation channels when the system of FIG. 4 is applied to a shared VNO;

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a satellite virtual resource network when the system of FIG. 4 is applied to a shared VNO;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a network communication configuration of a VSAT terminal user applying an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of the VSAT terminal equipment in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of satellite network communication resource allocation of the network controller in FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the creation and management of an exclusive VNO according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of the principle of creation and management of a shared VNO according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The description of the embodiments in this specification should be combined with the corresponding drawings, and the drawings should be regarded as a part of the complete specification. In the drawings, the shapes or thicknesses of the embodiments may be exaggerated and marked for simplification or convenience. Furthermore, parts of each structure in the drawings will be described separately. It should be noted that elements not shown in the drawings or described in words are forms known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The descriptions of the embodiments here, any references to directions and orientations are just for convenience of description, and should not be construed as any limitation to the protection scope of the present invention. The following descriptions of the preferred embodiments involve combinations of features, which may exist independently or in combination, and the present invention is not particularly limited to the preferred embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims.

In the embodiment of the present invention, it involves a host network operator (Host Network Operator, HNO), a virtual network operator (Virtual Network Operator, VNO) and a VSAT terminal user.

1. Main network operator

Responsible for complex infrastructure construction and maintenance throughout the system, he usually owns or leases satellite resources, and is responsible for purchasing and maintaining satellite ground equipment in the satellite network, including hardware and software, such as: baseband modem board, baseband Chassis, network controller, network management system and server, switch, main station antenna assembly and main station radio frequency transceiver (RFT) or radio frequency/intermediate frequency converter (IF/RF converter), etc. HNO is responsible for the expansion of satellite network space resources. He can create new satellite communication channels and manage shared equipment to allocate network resources to VNO. He can provide satellite network management, installation and maintenance, remote debugging support, and link budget for VNO users. Preparation, master station equipment maintenance, upstream Internet connection/dedicated data connection maintenance and software firmware upgrade coordination. By using the network management system, the HNO can fully grasp the operation status of the entire satellite network and all terminals, as well as the usage status of all VNO resources and terminals.

The HNO is responsible for managing the parameters of the entire system, including inbound and outbound carriers, bandwidth, carrier frequency, power, ACM adaptive control modulation and coding parameters, QoS policies, and the Internet Protocol (IP) of the master modem, NMS client and server, and network controllers. ) address and the configuration of the switch or router.

HNOs earn revenue from space segment operations, hosting services, and charging VNOs network management fees. Network management costs include, for example, the cost of renting modem boards, commissioning, configuration management, real-time monitoring, and periodic report generation. The HNO charges the VNO the rate of Mbps (exclusive VNO) or MHZ (shared VNO), or charges the fee for renting a modem board.

2. Virtual Network Operator

"Non-infrastructure" satellite network operators based on satellite network services provided by the host network operator's (HNO) business model. A VNO is a low-cost way to get into the satellite network operations business because there are already many upfront capital investments in the system, and the VNO can gradually add system capabilities as the business opportunity grows. Additionally, the VNO business model allows greater control over the end-user network, resulting in better customer service.

According to different network management modes, VNO is divided into exclusive VNO (Dedicate VNO) that supports independent network management mode (independent management and expansion of resources) and shared VNO (Shared VNO) that supports shared network management mode (dynamic allocation of resource systems) .

① Exclusive VNO users:

Can manage one or more independent satellite communication channels, VNO is responsible for managing and maintaining part of the hardware and software in the satellite network, such as modem boards, VNO is responsible for maintaining the software or firmware upgrade of the leased modem channel (if necessary, through the communication with HNO Coordination), restart, alarm and status monitoring, expansion installation of modem boards (by coordinating with HNO if necessary), commissioning of new remote sites and support for all network user sites, network user configuration, user IP address assignment (necessary time through coordination with HNO), entry and exit time slot and frequency planning, terminal remote management, monitoring, maintenance, etc.

② Shared VNO users:

From the retail terminal of the user segment, it can continuously obtain income from providing network basic services, terminal equipment installation and maintenance services, software upgrade services, terminal value-added services, etc. for satellite network terminal users. Each high-throughput satellite network user can be managed by its own VNO to provide services in a shared high-throughput satellite network, for example, it can provide users with Internet access services, data and video broadcast services and other IP business services, etc. In addition, satellite network users obtain technical support through VNO, such as terminal network access, and QoS service quality configuration when the bandwidth is insufficient.

3. VSAT end users

Obtain satellite communication system access and IP business services by purchasing VSAT terminals and antenna radio frequency, VSAT installation services, Internet access services, traffic package services, etc. from the VNO. The VSAT terminal can be a fixed station, a shipboard station, an airborne station, a vehicle station or a piggyback station. Users can access the satellite communication system anytime and anywhere, and the bandwidth and conditions of VSAT terminal access are managed and monitored by the VNO virtual operator.

As shown in Figures 1-3, it is a schematic flowchart of a virtual network operator management method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the virtual network operator management method includes:

S100, creating an exclusive VNO and/or a shared VNO; and

S200. Manage the exclusive VNO and/or the shared VNO.

Wherein, in said S100, creating said exclusive virtual network operator includes:

S111, adding and/or modifying at least one network segment as a dedicated network segment;

S112, adding at least one exclusive satellite virtual resource network, and assigning at least one dedicated network segment to each exclusive satellite virtual resource network;

S113, adding at least one exclusive virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each exclusive virtual network operator role;

S114, adding at least one exclusive VNO user, and assigning at least one exclusive VNO role to each exclusive VNO user;

S115. Create at least one management group for the exclusive virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group.

Wherein, in the S200, managing the exclusive virtual network operator includes:

The exclusive virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of private network segments, satellite virtual resource networks and management groups.

Wherein, in said S100, creating said shared virtual network operator includes:

S121, adding a cloud resource management module;

S122. Add at least one shared satellite virtual resource network, and allocate bandwidth to each shared satellite virtual resource network;

S123, adding at least one shared virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each shared virtual network operator role;

S124, adding at least one shared virtual network operator user, and assigning at least one shared virtual network operator role to each shared virtual network operator user;

S125. Create at least one management group for the shared virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group.

Wherein, in said S200, managing said shared virtual network operator includes:

The shared virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of the satellite virtual resource network and management group.

The virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below in conjunction with the satellite communication network system:

As shown in Figure 4, it is a kind of conventional satellite network communication system, including via Internet protocol IP network 41, gateway station baseband 42, gateway station radio frequency 43 (including intermediate frequency and radio frequency) to complete communication with satellite 44, and The service data is transmitted with the VSAT terminal 45 and subsequent devices. In addition, the network operation and maintenance personnel 47 of the main network operator (HNO) and the virtual network operator (VNO) perform satellite network monitoring and management and baseband equipment maintenance and management functions through the satellite network management system 46 .

As shown in Figure 5, the baseband 42 of the gateway station includes a network controller 420, a baseband chassis, a modulator 421, a demodulator 422, a combining matrix 423, a splitting matrix 424, and a switching board (not shown in the figure), etc. composition. Among them, the logical channel of the baseband modem board (modulator 421 and demodulator 422) is connected to the network controller 420 through the switching board (not shown in the figure), and the communication of the satellite channel is completed through the interaction of signaling and service data. For management and service transmission, the radio frequency transmitting port of the modulation board of the modulator 421 is connected with the combination matrix 423 of the chassis, and the radio frequency receiving port of the demodulation board of the demodulator 422 is connected with the splitting matrix 424 of the chassis, so that the modulator Both 421 and demodulator 422 are connected to gateway station radio frequency 43 through matrix outlet. The HNO can lease the modulation or demodulation channels of one or more baseband chassis in different baseband chassis to an exclusive VNO through the satellite network management system 46 (see FIG. 4 ). For leased channels or baseband boards, exclusive VNO users can manage physical channels by themselves.

As shown in FIG. 6 , an exclusive VNO user (ie VNO administrator) 442 owns an exclusive VNO role 443 , and this role owns an exclusive SVN (Satellite Virtual Network) 431 . An exclusive type of SVN (Satellite Virtual Network) includes the modem channel leased by the HNO to the exclusive VNO, and the dedicated NS (network segment) 434 and 435 allocated by the HNO to the exclusive VNO or created by the exclusive VNO. Dedicated NS consists of one outbound link and multiple inbound links, channel resources that can only be allocated by a management group that monopolizes VNO type users. Channel resources are associated with modem channels respectively, and the radio frequency port is finally connected to the gateway station radio frequency 43 . After the dedicated NS is enabled, the network management system can ensure that only VSAT terminals of the exclusive VNO type can access the channel. Management groups 436, 437 are collections of VSAT terminals with the same IP network configuration, and management groups 436, 437 usually have the same region such as a province or the same users such as a company's VSAT terminal users will be managed in the same management group. Different exclusive VNOs have different users, VNO roles, SVNs, dedicated NSs, management groups, IP networks, and modem channels. Therefore, the system realizes resource isolation at the physical and network levels, ensuring resources between VNO users Use and manage independently of each other.

The method of monopolizing the VNO can avoid that each user is not allowed to customize a single network for its specific application (for example, VOIP, web browsing, etc.), customers cannot independently utilize all network functions, and need to coordinate the control of these functions with third-party network operators , which reduces the flexibility and autonomy of customers. In order to flexibly control these network parameters, each VNO user using the exclusive VNO method can rent a baseband channel to build a user-independent network, dedicated to their application, and freely adjust it according to their needs.

As shown in FIG. 7 , all VNOs in the shared VNO can share and use the same modem and channel 421 and 422 , and share the same splitting and combining matrix 423 and 424 and be connected to the radio frequency 43 of the gateway station. The network controller 420 of the system (the number can be multiple) can be used in association with the baseband modem and its channel across the chassis through Ethernet in the same gateway station, and the network controller can control all VSATs in the managed network segment in the system The terminal performs dynamic resource allocation according to the superframe period, but the system cannot allocate the resources of the VNO user's VSAT terminal across multiple network controllers, so the system needs a cloud resource management module 425 network element to realize the above functions. The cloud resource management module 425 establishes a connection with the network controller, completes resource allocation collection for all network controllers every 32 superframe periods, and based on the maximum information rate (MIR) and committed information rate (CIR) of the shared VNO, As well as the maximum information rate and committed information rate of the VNO under different beams, the bandwidth resources across multiple network controllers are dynamically allocated. After the network controller receives the instruction from the cloud resource management center, it immediately completes the resource dynamics in the next superframe period. Adjustment.

As shown in FIG. 8 , a shared VNO user (that is, a VNO administrator) 441 owns an exclusive VNO role 440 , and this role owns a shared SVN (Satellite Virtual Network) 431 . All the shared SVN satellite virtual networks 449 can share the shared NS network segment 448, and the cloud resource management module 425 obtains the resource allocation situation of the network controller 420 in the shared network segment 448 to different VNOs in real time, and according to each shared type The maximum information rate and guaranteed guaranteed rate configured by SVN (Satellite Virtual Network) are adjusted dynamically in real time under different VNOs. The shared NS network segment 448 is only created by the HNO, and consists of one outbound link and multiple inbound links. The channel resources are respectively associated with the modem channel 451, and the radio frequency port is finally connected with the radio frequency 43 of the gateway station.

A shared SVN is the same as an exclusive SVN in that multiple management groups can be created and associated. A management group is a collection of VSAT terminals with the same IP network configuration. The management group usually has the same region such as a certain province or the same users such as a company's VSAT terminal users will be managed in the same management group. Different shared VNOs have different users, VNO roles, SVNs, management groups, and IP networks, but they can use the same shared NS and modem channel. Since shared VNO resources, especially hardware channels, are shared, it has the characteristics of simple management and easy expansion.

As shown in Figure 9, the VSAT terminal 45 users of the satellite network 1, in addition to including the VSAT terminal equipment 112, also include a plurality of end users 116 connected to the associated VSAT terminal equipment 112 via communication connections, and the end users 116 may be user computers , or a mobile device such as a laptop or smartphone.

The VSAT terminal equipment 112 and the terminal user 116 can communicate with the terminal equipment 112 through a dedicated communication link 113, and the dedicated communication link 113 can include RS-232 data links or other point-to-point communication links, as many Individual user computers 116 may also use a multipoint communication link such as an Ethernet data link. Additionally, multiple user computers 112 may communicate with network 1 through a single VSAT terminal 112 using wireless communication link 115 . The wireless communication link 115 may use a radio network such as Wifi or Wimax, an optical network, a microwave link, or other wireless communication links.

As shown in FIG. 10 , each end user uses the shared network device VSAT terminal device 112 to send communication data from the remote user to the upstream user, and each remote terminal receives the communication data from the upstream user sent via the shared network device. Based on the content of the terminal virtual router label table 123, the terminal virtual router 122 adds the VLAN label of the virtual router to each IP packet to be sent to the upstream user. The virtual router label contains a unique identifier, which can be distinguished by business or user, mapped to the local IP address of the remote user or upstream user, and the mapping between the virtual router label and each local IP address is stored in the terminal In the virtual router label table 123. Additionally, based on the contents of the terminal virtual router label table 908, the terminal virtual router removes the virtual router label from each communication packet transmitted to the remote user and routes the packet to the remote user's local IP address.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the network controller 420 includes an outbound virtual router 132 connected to the IP network 41 , and a protocol converter 134 connected to the gateway baseband 42 . The protocol converter 134 converts the communication service data in the modem board in the cabinet of the gateway station from the satellite communication protocol to the IP network protocol, transmits it to the IP network after passing through the core switch, and converts the communication data from the IP network After the protocol suitable for satellite communication is transmitted to the modem in the baseband chassis in the gateway station, it is forwarded to the baseband radio frequency 42 of the gateway station. Outbound virtual router 132, based on the contents of outbound virtual router label table 133, adds a virtual router label to each communication packet to be sent to a remote user on a particular VLAN. A virtual router label includes a unique identifier that is mapped to a remote or upstream user's local IP address, and the mapping between the virtual router label and each local IP address is stored in the outbound virtual router label table 133 . The outbound virtual router 132 then removes the virtual router label from each packet to be sent to the upstream user and routes the packet to the upstream user's local IP address based on the contents of the outbound virtual router label table 133 .

The communication between the network controller 420 and the remote terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a virtual router function, which repackages an IP packet into a virtual router packet by adding a virtual router label. Each intermediate element (including gateway modem chassis, satellite IF RF converter/satellite) is configured to pass packets containing virtual routing labels. On the network controller side, virtual router packets are translated back to IP packets by consulting the virtual routing label, which maps the combined virtual router address and IP address back to an IP address. Likewise, on the VSAT terminal side, the outbound virtual router packets are converted back to IP packets using a virtual routing table.

This design has the characteristics of complete freedom no matter in the satellite communication network management of the software operator or the hardware operator. A virtual network operator can select and assign IP addresses to users of its network 1 without regard to or knowledge of any IP addresses selected by other virtual network operators for its users. For example, network operator A can assign IP address 10.0.0.1 to network A remote users, and network operator B can also assign the same IP address, 10.0.0.1, to network B remote users without any risk of conflict.

According to the virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention, the administrator creates different virtual operator roles according to different requirements through the network management system, and each type of virtual operator role has part of the management authority of the network management system. For example, the administrator can assign modem and modem communication channels rented by users to the exclusive virtual operator role, so that the exclusive virtual operator can rent and configure parameters such as satellite bandwidth by itself, and create independent satellite communication on the network management system subnet.

The authority of the network management system management role includes the management authority of various resources of the communication system, for example, the sharing of modem boards, network controllers, baseband chassis and receiving and transmitting matrices between virtual operators, VSAT terminals, management groups, outgoing Inbound channel resources, upgrade files, map configuration and viewing, and more. The network management system supports different configurations that provide network resource-level visibility for virtual operator management. The system restricts each operator to manage only their own visible resources. For example, terminals, communication channels and subnets managed by different virtual operators are all are mutually invisible.

A virtual operator can be created with multiple user accounts bound to a virtual operator role. Virtual network operators can use these accounts to access the network management system through a web browser without downloading a local client, and can realize satellite communication The creation and deletion of subnets and the configuration of communication channels such as frequency point, super frame plan, transmission power, symbol rate, etc., as well as the ACM (adaptive control modulation and coding) configuration of communication channels, monitoring the working status of satellite communication channels, and managing virtual operations Provider management group and its network address pool planning, terminal remote upgrade, control, status monitoring, etc.

The network management system can be configured to perform primary network operator functions or virtual network operator functions. Network management systems are configured to provide different levels of capabilities to different users. A network management system (NMS) can provide different levels of permission and visibility to network resources based on the type of user. For example, a Home Network Operator user type identified as a Home Network Operator (HNO) superuser has authority and visibility to all communication system resources, a Network Operations user type identified as a Virtual Network Operator (VNO) superuser The business user type has only partial resource visibility, the "network administrator" type of a shared independently managed network in the communication system, and the network operator user type identified as "VNO guest user" has only read-only permissions, The network configuration parameters and network status of a virtual satellite network SVN in the communication system can be observed.

Network management systems can create capabilities for other user types with additional privileges and visibility of network resources. For example, a VNO account can be configured to provide access only to resources assigned to the VNO's network. The network management system can also configure VNO accounts for each VNO's NMS users, including user information, such as name/password, user type (such as VNO super user or VNO guest, shared VNO or exclusive VNO). VNO superusers can use the network management system to perform virtual network operations, such as adding, modifying, and deleting network remote users, activating and deactivating network remote users, selecting quality of service (QoS) profiles, monitoring and querying remote statistics, and It has visibility into the network it manages. VNO superusers cannot add or modify operators, independently add or modify hardware such as modem boards or network controllers, or view other shared networks in the communication system. These operations will affect the network configuration of other users and are reserved only for HNOs and An account used by the system's network administrator. The configuration and monitoring capabilities of different types of VNOs are shown in the following table.

As shown in Figure 12, it shows in detail the principle of how to add and manage exclusive virtual network operators in steps S111-S115 and S200, including:

In the first step, the HNO adds one or more network segments under the beam interface or modifies one or more network segments as dedicated network segments under the network segment interface in the network management system. A dedicated network segment can only be used by one VNO role, and cannot be shared by multiple VNOs. When a dedicated network segment is created, it is associated with one modulation channel or multiple demodulation channels. When a dedicated network segment is allocated to the SVN of an exclusive VNO, the modulation or demodulation channel of the dedicated network segment is automatically allocated to the exclusive VNO. VNO, the VNO will have the ability to monitor, configure, upgrade (negotiate with the HNO if necessary) and other functions of the channel (it still needs to be assigned the relevant authority in the third step).

In the second step, the HNO adds an exclusive VNO-type SVN in the network management system, and can allocate one or more dedicated network segments to the SVN. The management group or terminal created by the exclusive VNO user under the SVN can only use part or all of the private network segment allocated to the SVN.

In the third step, the HNO can add one or more exclusive VNO roles on the role management interface of the network management system, and assign permissions and exclusive VNO-type SVNs to these roles. The network management system provides recommended default permissions for different types of VNO roles, such as: terminal multicast upgrade permissions, network segment configuration and monitoring permissions, terminal addition, deletion, and remote configuration permissions, etc.; HNO can create different permissions for an operator. VNO roles with permissions, such as VNO role 1 has the permission to configure private network segments and modify terminals, and VNO role 2 can only view private network segments and view terminals, so that the same VNO operator can be used for users with guest permissions and administrators different users with different permissions to access the system.

In the fourth step, HNO adds one or more users on the user management interface of the network management system, and sets login names, passwords and assigns VNO roles for these users.

Step 5: The VNO user uses the account to log in to the network management system through a web browser.

In the sixth step, VNO users create one or more management groups. The terminals in the same management group are a group of terminals with the same attributes, such as the same location or beam resource, and the terminals belong to the same region or company.

In the seventh step, the VNO user configures a user address pool for the management group (negotiate with the HNO if necessary).

In the eighth step, the VNO user creates, deletes, modifies, configures, remotely maintains and monitors the VSAT terminal, and the VNO user manages the VSAT terminal only within the VNO.

In the ninth step, VNO users can configure and monitor the dedicated network segment of the VNO, modify such as frequency point, symbol rate, output power, super frame planning, etc., and monitor and maintain the modulation and demodulation channel of the VNO.

The VNO's SVN (Satellite Virtual Resource Network) is created and configured, and the maximum speed limit and minimum guaranteed speed of VNO inbound and outbound resources can be configured according to the resource pool of the beam.

HNO configures VNO permissions, creates VNO roles, and binds SVN resources to VNO roles. Multiple VNO accounts can be created and bound to the VNO role, so that the same virtual operator can have multiple access accounts on the network management.

As shown in Figure 13, it shows in detail the principle of how to add and manage shared virtual network operators in steps S121-S125 and S200, including:

The process of creating a shared VNO is basically the same as that of an exclusive VNO, the main differences are:

(1) The system needs to add RMC (Cloud Resource Management Center) to realize the function of sharing VNO;

(2) When creating a shared VNO, what the system allocates is not a dedicated network segment, but the total MIR and CIR and the MIR and CIR of each beam of the VNO user;

(3) The shared VNO monitors information such as the real-time throughput of the VNO's SVN and management group, and the exclusive VNO monitors parameters such as the throughput of the dedicated network segment;

(4) Shared VNO supports adding the function of secondary shared VNO.

To sum up, the virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention can provide different configuration management for operator users with different operation management requirements by proposing two management modes of virtual network operators, that is, the exclusive mode and the shared mode. Mode, through the improvement of the operation mode and the realization of the system design, can effectively reduce the input costs of other operators, and improve the resource utilization rate of the system. The main network operator of the satellite also brings considerable benefits, with low cost and wide applicability , easy to use and maintain, etc., can realize simultaneous independent operation and management of multiple operators of high-throughput satellite network.

The virtual network operator management method of the embodiment of the present invention supports operators to monopolize one or more satellite networks, and different operators share public equipment and satellite resources and dynamically allocate bandwidth among multiple independently managed networks. The equipment in the satellite network is reconfigurable and expandable, providing the ability to change communication capacity when additional elements are added or reconfigured. Configurable features include communication bandwidth, quality of service (QoS), and the number of communication satellites, beams, satellite subnets, etc. included in the communication system. Through the expansion mode of VNO (Virtual Network Operator) configured in the network management system, small operators can greatly reduce the initial investment cost, lower the threshold for entering the satellite communication service provider market, and provide end users with competitive satellite-based At the same time, through the promotion of VNO business, HNO (main network operator) can share the input cost of the system, improve the resource utilization rate of the system, and reduce the difficulty of developing the terminal user market, so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included in the scope of the present invention. within the scope of protection.

Claims (7)

1. A virtual network operator management method, characterized in that, the virtual network operator management method comprises: S100, creating an exclusive VNO and/or a shared VNO; and S200. Manage the exclusive VNO and/or the shared VNO; Wherein, the exclusive virtual network operator monopolizes one or more satellite communication channels provided by the main network operator, and the shared virtual network operator shares at least part of a satellite communication channel provided by the main network operator hardware equipment and software resources. 2. The virtual network operator management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in said S100, creating said exclusive virtual network operator comprises: S111, adding and/or modifying at least one network segment as a dedicated network segment; S112, adding at least one exclusive satellite virtual resource network, and assigning at least one dedicated network segment to each exclusive satellite virtual resource network; S113, adding at least one exclusive virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each exclusive virtual network operator role; S114, adding at least one exclusive VNO user, and assigning at least one exclusive VNO role to each exclusive VNO user; S115. Create at least one management group for the exclusive virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group. 3. The virtual network operator management method according to claim 2, characterized in that, in said S110, when adding and/or modifying a dedicated network segment, the configuration items for the dedicated network segment include frequency point, symbol rate, output Power, superframe planning and modem channel; In said S130, the management authority assigned to the exclusive virtual network operator role includes at least one of terminal multicast upgrade authority, network segment configuration and monitoring authority, terminal addition, deletion and modification, and remote configuration authority, and an exclusive virtual network operator role Operator users can assign different permissions to their multiple exclusive virtual network operator roles; In the step S150, management groups are created according to the attributes of the terminal users, so that all terminal users in each management group have at least one set of the same attributes. 4. The virtual network operator management method according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that, in the S200, managing the exclusive virtual network operator includes: The exclusive virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of private network segments, satellite virtual resource networks and management groups. 5. The virtual network operator management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in said S100, creating said shared virtual network operator comprises: S121, adding a cloud resource management module; S122. Add at least one shared satellite virtual resource network, and allocate bandwidth to each shared satellite virtual resource network; S123, adding at least one shared virtual network operator role, and assigning satellite virtual resource network and management rights to each shared virtual network operator role; S124, adding at least one shared virtual network operator user, and assigning at least one shared virtual network operator role to each shared virtual network operator user; S125. Create at least one management group for the shared virtual network operator user, and assign an address pool to each management group. 6. The virtual network operator management method according to claim 5, characterized in that, in said S122, the bandwidth allocated for each shared type of satellite virtual resource network includes total MIR and total CIR, and the bandwidth under different beams Sub-MIR and sub-CIR. 7. The virtual network operator management method according to any one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that, in the S200, managing the shared virtual network operator includes: The shared virtual network operator users manage their respective end users within their respective rights, including the management of the satellite virtual resource network and management group.

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